Nicole, Peter

, a celebrated French divine, was
born at Chartres, Oct. 6, 1625. He was the son of John
Nicole above mentioned, who, discovering him to be a
youth of promising talents, gave him his first instructions
in grammar, and so grounded him in classical knowledge,
that at the age of fourteen he was qualified to go to Paris,
and commence a course of philosophy; and at its completion, in about two years, he took the degree of M. A. July
23, 1644. He afterwards studied divinity at the Sorbonne,
| in 1645 and 1646 and, during this course, learned He*
brew, improved himself farther in Greek, acquired a knowledge of Spanish and Italian. He also devoted part of his
time to the instruction of the youth put under the care of
messieurs de Port-royal. As soon as he had completed
three years, the usual period, in the study of divinity,he
proceeded bachelor in that faculty in 1649, on which oc*
casion he maintained the theses called the Tentative, He
afterwards prepared himself to proceed a licentiate;, but
was diverted from it by the dispute which arose about the
five famous propositions of Jansenius, added to his connections with Mr. Arnauld. By this means he was at more
leisure to cultivate his acquaintance with gentlemen of the
Port-royal, to which house he now retired, and assisted
Mr. Arnauld in several pieces, which that celebrated di*
vine published in his own defence. They both went to
M. Varet’s house at Chatillon near Paris, in 1664, and there
continued to write, inconcert. Nicole afterwards resided
at several places, sometimes at Port-royal, sometimes at
Paris, &c. He was solicited to take holy orders but, after
an examination of three weeks, and consulting with M.
Pavilion, bishop of Aleth, he remained only a tonsured
priest. It has been asserted by some, that having failed to
answer properly when examined for the subdeaconship, he
considered his being refused admission to it, as a warning
from heaven. He continued undisturbed at Paris till 1677,
when a letter which he wrote, for the bishops of St. Pons
and Arras, to pope Innocent XI. against the relaxations of
the casuists, drew upon him a storm, that obliged him to
withdraw. He went 6rst to Chartres, where his father was
lately dead; and, having settled his temporal affairs, he
repaired to Beauvais, and soon after took his leave of the
kingdom, in 1679. He retired first to Brussels, then went
to Liege, and, after that, risited Orval, and several other
places. A letter, dated July 16, 1679, which he wrote to
Harlai, archbishop of Paris, facilitated his return to France:
and Robert, canon of the church of Paris, obtained leave
of that archbishop, some time after, for Nicole to come
back privately to Chartres. Accordingly he repaired immediately to that, city, under the name of M. Berci, and
resumed his usual employments. The same friend afterwards solicited a permission for him to return to Paris, and
having obtained it at length in 1683, he employed his
time in the composition of various new works. In 1693,
| perceiving himself to be grown considerably infirm, he resigned a benefice, of a very moderate income, which her
had at Beauvais; and after remaining for about two years
more in a very languishing state, died of the second stroke
of an apoplexy, Nov. 16, 1695, aged 70 years.

He lived all his life with great simplicity, loved retirement and quiet, and was very little versed in the manners
of the world, in which, however, he acquired great fame
for his excellence in metaphysics. His judgment was
solid; and he was more than commonly learned. Yet he
is said to have been so credulous, that he believed every
thing he heard, however improbable, being unable to imagine that any one would deceive him. His conversation
was agreeable, but not prompt; he was slow in producing
reasons for what he advanced. This occasioned him to say
of M. de Treville, a man of genius, and a fluent speaker,
*' He is too hard for me in the chamber, but by the time I
get to the stairs-foot, I have puzzled him." Nicole was
also a man of such timidity, that he scarcely dared to stir
from his house, for fear of unforeseen accidents, by which
thousands, he said, had been killed or wounded.

His arduous application to polite literature enabled him
to imitate the style of the best Latin authors, particularly
that of Terence; but he is most admired as an elegant
writer in his own language. In France he suffered much
by undertaking the defence of Jansenius, whose opinions
were condemned by the Sorbonne, the clergy of France,
and indeed the whole church. His works are very numerous, consisting of not less than an hundred articles: the
principal are, I.“Moral Essays,” 14 vols. 12mo, among
which are three volumes of “Letters and Reflections on
the Epistles and Gospels,” 5 vols, which joined to the
“Theological Instructions on the Sacrament,” 2 vols,
“on the Creed,” 2 vols.; “on the Lord’s Prayer,” 1 vol.;
“on the Decalogue,” 2 vols. and the “Treatise on
Prayer,” 2 vols, form the 23 volumes of what are called
“Moral Essays.” 2. “Lettresimaginaires et visionaires,”
1667, 2 vols. 12mo. 3. The small “Perpetuity of the
Faith,” with a defence of it. 4. The large “Perpetuity,”
written in conjunction with M. Arnauld, 3 vols. 4to, but
almost entirely by M. Nicole. 5. “Les Prejuges legitimes
centre les Calvinistes,” 12mo. 6. “Tr. de PUnke* de
l’Eglise,” against Jurieu. 7. “Les Pretendes Réformés
convaincus de Schisme; Réfutation des principales erreurs
| des Quitistes.” Besides many other controversial pieces
in defence of Jansenius and M. Arnauld, he published a
selection of Latin epigrams, entitled “Epigrammaturn Delectus,” 1659, 12mo, and a Latin translation of the “Provincial Letters,” with notes, &c. under the assumed name
of Wendrock. A history of the life and writings of M.
Nicole was published in 1735, 12mo. 1

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